The Art Museum

We started our date with lunch at Scotty's Brewhouse. Great food, great fun, great service.

We drove down to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Sometime soon, we will take the kids to enjoy the outdoor gardens and 100 Acres. But on Saturday, we were focused on each other, on art, on people watching, on exploring.

It had been over a decade since I had visited an art museum- same for Jeff. I regret that. Art is one of those things that speaks a certain way to the artist and a million different ways to the people who view it and experience it. We saw the art of Tara Donovan in a special exhibit. There was a percussion presentation- percussion inspired by the art on display. It was interesting. I got what the musician was doing and how it tied in with the display. But it quickly became too much to be in the presence of without being concerned that I might damage my ears or bleed from my brain.

Jeff is a fan of Impressionist art so we spent quite a bit of time in the European Art section. I'm intrigued by Contemporary Art so we made sure to explore that area as well. I'm also a fan of photography and enjoyed a fantastic exhibit on Weegee. We were in awe of the Flemish Triptych of the Annunciation- the Angel Gabriel had multi-colored wings. There was another painting by a different artist in the same period that also depicted these beautiful multi-colored and even metallic wings. We were drawn to a depiction of Hell that dated back to the 1500's and was incredibly graphic and seemed futuristic rather than something created hundreds of years ago.

We laughed at some of the Contemporary Art that we didn't fully understand or thought was simply insane. We enjoyed more of it than we thought we would. I was completely drawn to a piece called The Quintet of the Silent by Bill Viola. It's definitely one that someone would completely get and others maybe wouldn't. There is a flat screen TV on the wall. You could easily walk by and think it is just a picture of 5 men. However, when you walk by a second time or if you stand and study, you will realize that they are moving. Very, very slowly. I was completely intrigued and drawn in. As the facial expressions slowly changed or gestures slowly formed, I was completely drawn in and wondered about the story of these 5 men and how they knew each other and what news they had learned that was causing this intense reaction.

For this piece, Viola assembled five actors in a composition that recalls a Renaissance painting. He instructed the performers "to show pressure, tension, and stress in a general arc of emotion as it enters, manifests, and leaves the body," but allowed them to interpret the instruction in their own way. Viola filmed the video in one minute in real time, but the final work plays in slow motion for fifteen minutes and then repeats in a continuous loop.

We enjoyed the art. We enjoyed the people watching. Most of all, we enjoyed each other.

Jeff wanted to be an artist- still could be if he'd tap into it. He can draw. There is a portfolio of pieces he did in high school and college and he definitely has talent. Being with him in an environment where he was surrounded by something he is passionate about was really special. We held hands. I held his arm. He put his arm around me. We showed each other items that we found interesting. We sat down in the cafe and shared a cookie and beverages while watching a fountain and just talking and sitting and enjoying the quiet of being together without the demands of little hands and little voices.

A daytime date. To the art museum. Where there were a few kids but not a lot. Which was perfect. Because it was our day without kids. It's hard to put into words how great it was. How it felt to relax and let the stress of parenting and work go. To connect to the man I have chosen to dedicate my own life to. To walk and hold hands and steal a kiss in a dark gallery.

Go. You need to go. Schedule an afternoon with your significant other and find something to do - like go to the art museum. Take a few hours for yourself, for your partner. Let life go when you walk in the doors and focus on what is around you and who is beside you. Take a visit to the art museum.